Our pillars are what we strand behind. They’re the areas we focus on that we know make the biggest difference in an individuals path to peace which is where peace in the world begins.
Peace & Nonviolence Education
We motivate, inspire and encourage participants to consider how important inner peace is and why we need to deal with our own “stuff”.
It’s only when a person gains self-awareness that they become aware of what’s happening within them. Then, they can begin to transmute stagnant energy into healing energy.
When an aware person starts to acknowledge what’s happening inside of them, they can begin to identify if they are stuck in old energy patterns, belief systems or false narratives that are no longer serving them.
It’s through the process of identifying, forgiving, eliminating or reducing pain and confusion that inner peace will start to radiate out to the rest of the world. Not only is the individual impacted through inner peace and healing, but the people and communities around them are also impacted.
Yoga has ancient roots in India. Nonviolence activists like Mahatma Gandhi used yoga philosophy to lead a successful nonviolent resistance campaign in India, which also inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the U.S. civil rights and freedom movements.
Human Rights and Civil rights activists like Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks and Ambassador Andrew Young all practiced various pathways of yoga to help them heal and process trauma, oppression and injustices in their lives.
We look at some of the most inspirational and motivational peace leaders and movements in history; and learn how to practice peace individually and teach peace collectively.
Trauma Informed Yoga
You are resilient. We are resilient. Humans are resilient.
Our work supports participants in building resilience and releasing trauma by working with the body, with special attention on the the breath, nervous system and brain.
There are many ways to work with trauma. What’s experienced in the body as trauma to one person may not be experienced as trauma to another.
Trauma is not only about a specific event or experience. It is the body reflexively responding to a perceived threat, it doesn’t matter how big or small.
The experience of trauma stays in the body, but can be released through various somatic movements and healing arts practices that can go beyond cognition, words and language.
Trauma impacts memory (in the body and brain) as well as the brain’s amygdala, and the parasympathetic nervous system which controls the rest and digest functions of the body. It also impacts the sympathetic nervous system, which controls the body’s flight, fight or freeze response.
When the body experiences trauma, a person’s nervous system can stay stuck in the “flight, fight, freeze” response, in which the nervous system is unable to rest and digest.
Trauma can be triggered by grief, death, violence (physical, emotional or sexual), a crisis (global, financial, spiritual, health, etc.), sudden change or a great loss.
It can show up as anger, agitation, anxiety, sadness, stress, depression or rigidness; and can lead to emotional unavailability, lack of intimacy or feeling like your heart is closed to love.
Feelings of being stuck, overwhelmed or not enough is another effect of trauma. This can lead to bias and the various “-isms”, which accompany a lack of empathy, pity or compassion with one’s self or others.
When we do the work to transform trauma within the body, we create spaces and opportunities for healing. This healing can impact our families; past, present and future generations; our community; and the world.
Oppression and Violence
Traumas are connected to lived experiences, ancestral experiences or transgenerational experiences of oppression and violence, whether structural, environmental, racial or social.
Even though individuals may come from different backgrounds and experiences and may experience different levels of oppression, there is still a connection in regards to the impacts, symptoms and consequences of various oppressions. There are common threads in these experiences that when discovered or acknowledged can lead to individual, communal and collective healing.
We’ve studied and practiced healing modalities for over 20 years, and we’ve combined our yoga trainings, educational backgrounds and travels to sacred healing sites around the world to create this Paths to Peace healing program.
Healing Arts
Healing arts are creative forms of self expression that engage the imagination and the senses to address deep subconscious feelings and beliefs that are not always readily available through language or conscious thought.
Participants can become aware of and begin to transform their emotions and mental attitudes that block healing through the use of healing arts. This can create enriching experiences for personal change, self development and reception of pleasure.
The healing arts have been known to reduce stress and decrease feelings of loneliness and shame. These practices can also lessen fear, relieve anxiety and reduce pain.
Healing arts enhance self-esteem, offer new coping mechanisms and give a sense of control to participants through an appreciation of the senses. This can create strong communal ties and feelings of belonging.
Restorative Justice & Community Building
Our goal is to be inclusive and build community with participants from different backgrounds who are seeking a deeper journey inward towards healing and empowerment because everyone needs and deserves peace.
Through these inclusive practices individuals, neighborhoods, public safety officials and organizations can create a sense of belonging and a space for community members to find common ground and to share in a practice of peace building.
It’s important for partipants to support one another when facing, obstacles like violence, incarceration, immigration, addiction, human trafficking, sexual asault, and various other issues that plague communities.
Creating a practice where all individuals and families in a community can come together is community building at its essence. When individuals can offer their talents and gifts to the community, it enhances feelings of belonging and the opportunity to feel valued, seen, heard and integral to the community.
These exercises reduce feelings of isolation and harmful behaviors that can plague a society. Community building cultivates connection, encourages selfless service and offers the inspiration to “Be the Change.”
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
Understanding that all oppressions are connected, we use trauma informed yoga and the healing arts as a path into restorative justice to further promote individual and communal healing whether in our local communities or connecting with the global communities. It can create opportunities for unlikely bonds and shared experiences in healing.
Oppression & Violence
Traumas are connected to lived experiences, ancestral experiences or transgenerational experiences of oppression and violence, whether structural, environmental, racial or social.
Even though individuals may come from different backgrounds and experiences and may experience different levels of oppression, there is still a connection in regards to the impacts, symptoms and consequences of various oppressions. There are common threads in these experiences that when discovered or acknowledged can lead to individual, communal and collective healing.
We’ve studied and practiced healing modalities for over 20 years, and we’ve combined our yoga trainings, educational backgrounds and travels to sacred healing sites around the world to create this Paths to Peace healing program.
“Healing isn’t fully healing if it doesn’t in some way connect the individual to the community...We heal so that communities can take on healing as part of their everyday ways of being.”
—Susan Raffo
